Vu ,Moo, Fondue, et vous

So I am beginning to fit in here in Versoix...
Well, ok, not exactly fit in, but I am feeling less and less a big American moron by the day. I've taken the train into Geneva-proper twice now, and I ate fondue at a world-famous restaurant called L'Armoir (Bill Clinton ate there during his presidency even though it was impossible given the restaurant's location to make the place secure; he loved food so much he didn't mind the risk. They have a letter from him to the owner mounted permanently on the wall.)
I also am using money without getting confused, I've eaten about 20 things I couldn't identify, and I finally found a book about hiking in the mountains nearby. Jane, a teacher from France who runs several language schools there (it's only 7 miles away) is an avid hiker, and she hooked me up with the book. It's in French, but at least it has a map. I plan on going next week while the students are away for two days. The girls are all going to Paris, but I need some girl-free time, and I'm sure they could use a break from giving me a hard time.
OH, I almost forgot. Last night we had Swiss Night, where we ate local foods and heard yodelers and stuff. We had some of the most horrible smelling cheese ever called raclette. It did taste much better than it smelled, however.
I ALSO tried my hand (well, lips) at playing an alpenhorn.
OH, YEAH... I f*ckin' jammed, bro.
Hmmmm... what else?
Let's see... I finally made the acquaintance of some "world famous" Swiss Cows, I saw a hedgehog and a snail, I took a silly photo of one of my students, and I at long last found a real espresso machine this morning (Lemme give a shout out to my boy, God, for the good coffee!) and now, after having finally updated my blog again, it is time for a nap.

Weirdness in the wee hours

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Gack! Sleepy...

I guess I am still jetlagged, because I got nailed by the sleepies this afternoon like you wouldn't believe. Or it could be that I've probably walked 3 or 4 miles today... I didn't realize how little walking I do at home, but it is a nice change for me here. I am definitely one of those damned car-dependent Americans.

I found a store in town today that is open from 2:30 -6:00, so I was finally able to get some razors, though they only had the girly pink disposable ones... whatever.

My roomies have already taken to making fun of me for fixating on the local flora and fauna. I guess I forget in spending all my time with Erin that most adults could care less about slugs or bats or rats. Yes, rats. As I was walking the tree-line path to school...

I was looking in the water hoping to see fish, and this big white thing wiggled by. I thought it was a fish until it wiggld out of the water and scurried into the grass. I'd never seen a wild rat before, and I hope he stays far away from our house.

I also saw a kid with the smallest puppy I've ever seen. it's the same saize as a kitten!

Hmmmm... What else?

Oh, Mont Blanc! Clearly visible from Geneva, this is one Bitchin' mountain.

More on it later. OK, I'm off for dinner, but I'll probably post more later.

T

Day 2

Well, today we didn't do much. We had breakfast, which consisted of yogurt, cereal and chocolate-filled croissants, and then we accidentally sat in on a meeting for the teen-aged counselors before we realized as teachers that we didn't need to do it. I found out I will be teaching English in the mornings instead of Science in the afternoon, which suits we fine. It means freeing up my afternoon.We took the train into Geneva, which is a cool city. Very international, and it was interesting that for the first time in my life the white people were diferentiated by their nationality. People of hundreds of countries speaking dozens of different languages. Funny that there is a huge Starbucks which as just packed, and was the only place to get coffee after 6 pm. EVERYTHING is closed here after 6 and all day Sunday, so it was my last chance for coffee. But, dammit, they wouldn't accept my Sbux gift-card.

Afterward, we went to the Jardin Anglais and had pizza in the middle of a huge celebration where they were watching the beginnings of the America's Cup on a huge outdoor screen. Apparently, team Switzerland is kicking a little New Zealand-ass, and wants to hold on to the cup they won in 2003. It was a fun atmosphere, and I hope they hold on to it for another 4 years.Other interesting sights included a string of banks notorious for holding Nazi wealth during WW II, a bunch of watch stores, and, oddly, a Columbia store, which is Erin's and my favorite clothing line. It was closed, but I plan on returning when they open to look for some goodies for Erin.

After that we ran back to catch our train back to Versoix, which only leaves cerntral Geneva at the top of the hour. We got there exactly as the train was pulling up, which was good because one of our girls had a curfew of 10:00 and it was the 9:00 train we barely made.Now, it is 10:30 Sunday morning, and I overslept, missing breakfast. Unfortunately, NOTHING is open, so I'll have to wait for lunch, but I'm filling in the time writing this here blog. I am hoping to find someone who brought disposable razors, as I am looking a little scruffy for a teacher and there is nowhere to buy one today.

Day one (sort of)

Well, here I am, in Switzerland. I have to confess that the jetlag was WAY worse than I was expecting, so yesterday didn’t count as the 1st day. We had to sit on the runway in Newark for 4 HOURS while waiting for the weather to clear, so our 8 hour trip became 12 hours in the plane. Ugh.

OK, in no particular order, here are a few of the things I’ve noticed so far that I didn’t expect.

1. Giant Swiss slugs.

2. The “Z” and “Y” are reversed on the keyboards.

3. Lots and lots and lots of motorcycles on the very narrow roads

Anyway, it is beautiful here, and the people I’ve met so far have been pretty nice. I haven’t made a trip into town yet, but I will today. I need to get a few things I forgot, like soap, a razor, a plug adapter, and allergy pills. I also need to get some new headphones because I broke mine on the plane while squirming around trying to get comfortable. I’ve been trying to learn some French phrases from the nifty book Erin got me, but as soon as I put the book down, I forget them. French is all Greek to me. Hopefully I’ll be a little better at picking it up now that the jetlag’s wearing off.

Enough from me for now. I am off for breakfast, and to find an internet connection so I can actually upload this to my blog.

T

F*ck the morons at the State Department

Well, I am now not quite as at ease as I was last night. I'm not so worried about missing my flight as I am incredibly annoyed at having waited on hold for nearly 2 hours this afternoon, only to be hung up on while waiting to talk to a supervisor about where the fuck my passport is.
I am normally not a violent person, but fantasies of driving to LA and going postal (metaphorically of course) on the idiots in the regional passport office are occupying all the idle time on my hands as I wait for the fourth time now to speak to someone.
I find it odd how incredibly efficient the State department is in cashing checks (mine was cashed 33 days ago) yet they can't seem to meet their 7-10 day expedited service within 5 weeks, or their "guaranteed 48 hour response" time within 8 days, nor can they apparently copy down a tracking number correctly.
It's almost comedic how completely dishonest and without value this enormous government agency is in regards to its capacity to do its job in a timely manner.

OK, maybe my NEXT post will be from somewhere else.

T

A typical few days in the life of Tyson

OK,

So, in no particular order, here are the main things that happened in my life on Saturday, and are still unresolved today...

1. Visa informed me that someone probably jacked my debit card number and my account was frozen. Fortunately, all the charges were denied and some jerkoff in West Hollywood Florida was unable to buy product at a hair salon. UNfortunately, since I'll need my card to get cash whilst in Europe, I had to pay 42$ to have a new card made and rush delivered in time for my Thursday departure.

2. my flight leaves in 30 hours, and I haven't received my passport yet. However, according tot he VERY helpful guy on the phone today my passport was sent from LA via overnight expressmail. He was nice enough to give me a tracking # which, as far as USPS is concerned, shows that my passport was delievered in Canada in Dec. 2006.

3. The VERY helpful anti-spyware program, Spybot Seek and Destroy, irreparably damaged my computer on uninstall, and I've lost, among other things, email and passwords for bill-related sites dating for the last 4 years. After spending, oh, about 10 hours infront of my comp. on Sunday, my computer is now running (barely) but I still can't access email addys, etc.

4. My motorcycle, which I took in to have a flat tire fixed, oh, about 200 miles ago, again has a flat tire. and it's a tubed tire no less.

So, this is pretty much par for course in my life. I often wonder what would happen to me under such circumstances if I were the type of person who, like, worried and got bent out of shape over things like this. I'd probably have a heart attack or nervous breakdown. As it is, I'm really feeling indifferent to it all.
Either my tube will be replaced free of charge, or it won't.
Either my comp is toast, or I'll fix it when I get back.
Either I go in 29 hours, or I don't.

I have little doubt my next post will be from Newark or Geneva... provided I don't wind up stranded on a desert island or something.

Ha Cha!

I've been completely void of intersting thoughts lately, which is why I haven't posted much lately. I always get a little squirrely this time of year with summer fast approaching, and as usual, I am having serious thoughts about quitting my job. It turns out that my boss (who also happens to be my landlord) has been misleading me for his own benefit as far as my career goes, and I am nearly fed up with it. I haven't signed my contract for next year, and though I probably will eventually, I have a few applications out that I am waiting to hear back from first. We'll see how things go.
Other than that, not much happening. I'm sure once school's out and I have decided what to do next year, that I will have more to say.